Becoming
by Daylight
Summary: After the final battle, Caspian finds little is as safe and settled as he'd hoped. Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy do their best to teach Caspian how to be a good king and keep him alive at the same time.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Narnia or its characters despite the fact I've been crowned a Queen of Narnia on four separate occasions. _

_Author's Note: This story is based on Disney's Prince Caspian movie. It covers events after the final battle until just before the Pevensies leave for home._

_WARNINGS: Some blood and violence. No sex, slash, incest etc._

**Becoming**

**By Daylight**

**Prologue**

It was the night after the most exhausting day of the most exhausting week of his entire life, and Caspian couldn't sleep. He could blame the battle's leftover adrenaline, which still made him want to start at every sudden sound and movement. He could blame his sore body: the strained muscles, the bruised back, the aching arm. But in truth, it was his mind keeping him awake. No matter what he did his thoughts refused to silence.

After the battle, Aslan's Howe was no longer a viable place to stay. The entrance was still blocked and the ground around it was too unstable and too much like a graveyard. So they set up a temporary camp at Beruna using some of the Telmarine's own supplies as they dealt with the injured and the dead. Once they were rested and recuperated, they planned to move on to the castle where they hoped the few remaining soldiers would not give them too much trouble. The Telmarine soldiers that had surrendered were now weaponless and armourless but well guarded. For the most part, there was a sense of resignation amongst the newly made prisoners but there remained some disquiet and unease.

Caspian knew they couldn't be kept prisoners forever. A decision had to be made about their fate and the decision would have to be his, the first of many decisions, because though there had yet to be an official coronation, with Aslan's blessing, he was king. It was all his responsibility now.

Stretched out on a blanket in one of their hastily erected tents, the new king turned over for the hundredth time that night. Glancing around, he noted that the space next to his remained empty. Edmund was most likely still on guard duty. Across the tent, he could just make out the form of the high king lying quiet and still.

When shifting position for the hundredth and first time proved just as ineffective at making him comfortable, Caspian decided to give in. Sitting up, he reached for the sword beside him, but hesitated. The battle was over, he reminded himself. He was going to have to get used to going without it and he might as well start now. Grabbing his cloak and his boots instead, he got up.

"You should really try to get some rest."

Caspian jumped reaching for his absent sword before he realized it was Peter who had spoken. He let out a sigh. "If only that were possible."

"You should still try to get as much as you can. There's a lot to do tomorrow."

"I know," Caspian replied tersely and turned to leave.

The high king sat up examining Caspian in the dim light. "Are you alright?"

The Telmarine Prince looked back. He opened his mouth then closed it again and shook his head. "I'm fine. I just need some fresh air." And he swiftly excused himself.

Frowning, Peter watched as Caspian's silhouette disappeared into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

_A.N.: Thanks so much to KrystalB2003 and bruce24 for the lovely reviews. I'm afraid the first few chapters are going to be a bit short, but they get longer later on._

**Chapter 1**

Fires had been lit around the camp making up for the dim light of the quarter moon, but Caspian soon found himself leaving their warm circle as he searched for solitude. Entering the woods, he found the trees even more intimidating than usual. For Caspian, who had been brought up amongst the Telmarine superstitions on trees, the woods had always been an intriguing yet menacing force on the horizon. Though he now knew the trees were on his side, he also knew what they could do and it was hard to shake old fears. He rested a hand on a nearby trunk. At least for now, the trees seemed to be resting once more.

As he traveled deeper into the woods and further from the firelight, the moon cast strange shadows of the trees swaying lightly in the wind. Caspian could hear the restless sounds of the night creatures scurrying amongst the branches and the undergrowth. After the past weeks in the woods, he'd grown used to these sounds, but they still but his battle worn nerves on edge. He stepped as lightly as he could over the earth and bracken, but he was no woodsmen and his footsteps sounded too loud to his ears.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to swing around and curse himself for leaving his sword behind. He hoped it was just the wind, but as his eyes strained in the darkness, he could make out a human figure approaching. And it didn't appear to have forgotten its sword.

The prince was preparing to defend himself when the form called out. "Caspian?"

And suddenly, Caspian realized the silhouette was much too small to be that of a Telmarine soldier. "King Edmund?"

As he got closer, the pale features of the second-youngest Pevensie could be made out in the moonlight, his expression of relief matching that of Caspian. "What are you doing out here?"

Caspian shrugged. "I couldn't sleep," he admitted.

Sheathing his sword, Edmund gave him a weary smile. "Why do you think I volunteered for guard duty?"

Caspian smiled back. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one."

"Lucy's the only one of us who can really sleep after a battle. And trust me, she'll be up bright and early just to remind us."

"I guess I missed out, not having siblings."

"They can be the most wonderful pains in the neck," Edmund stated. "But I wouldn't trade them for the world, any world."

With a wistful smile, Caspian nodded.

"I should be getting back to my duties." The young king made to leave, but Caspian called to him once more.

Edmund glanced back questioningly at Caspian.

"Um…" The prince hesitated. Shaking his head, he changed his mind on what he was going to say and quickly asked something else. "Is Aslan still at the camp?"

"No. He disappeared sometime in the evening. He does that. After all, he's not a tame lion," Edmund replied with a smirk. "But don't worry, he promised to be there for your coronation, remember." As Edmund headed back to the camp, he missed the million worries swim back into Caspian's eyes.

The prince found his shoulders weighed down once more and could only continue on into the woods. His mind was a mess of confusion and he cursed himself for not being able to give voice to his doubts and fears. His eyes were so intent on the ground that he almost didn't see the flash of moonlight on the sword as it swung towards him.


	3. Chapter 2

_A.N.: I may have gone overboard on evil cliffhangers for these first few chapters. At least the drafts of the next few chapters are already done so you don't have to wait too long._

**Chapter 2**

Caspian's reflexes didn't fail him completely. He managed to twist around just in time letting the sword catch his side instead of his chest. Clutching his side and letting out a cry, he fell backwards leaving him vulnerable on the ground. The figure advanced towards him once more, but Caspian kicked upward hitting him in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of the attacker giving the prince the chance to get back on his feet.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The attacker didn't reply. Instead, he took another swing at Caspian. The prince dodged out of the way. Though he couldn't see much in the dim light, Caspian could tell the man was a Telmarine soldier, though armourless and wearing dark clothes. He must have been quite a skilled one to move so swiftly and silently in the woods.

The man thrust his sword forward once more, but this time Caspian side-stepped and came up beside him grabbing the arm holding the sword. Pinching the man's wrist, Caspian forced him to let go of his weapon. It flew off into the forest's dark undergrowth.

The attacker threw Caspian off, but the prince rolled around to face him once more. They exchanged several more blows before the man got a lucky opening and punched Caspian's wounded side. As Caspian backed off gasping in pain, the Telmarine soldier took the opportunity to grab a dagger from his boot.

Caspian was only just able to stop the man's hand before the dagger could slice open his throat. As it was, Caspian suddenly found himself with his back against a tree as the man pushed the dagger closer to his neck. Looking into his attacker's face, the prince expected it to be covered with savage fury. Instead, the man's expression was strangely blank except for a cold determination in his eyes.

Swinging his right leg, Caspian tried to knock the man off his feet but was blocked by the soldier's knee. He was about to summon all his strength for a final shove when he heard a shout. Suddenly, the man's face slackened and his eyes became glassy. The Telmarine soldier's body fell away to reveal Edmund standing behind him with a stained sword.

"Are you alright?" he asked looking him over in the moonlight.

Caspian nodded wiping his damp hands on his trousers as he caught his breath.

Frowning, Edmund crouched down next to the body. "An assassin?"

"Must be." Caspian's eyes searched the woods now more wary than ever. "We should warn Peter and set up more guards. There might be others out there."

The pair jogged back to the firelight of the camp and the tent they shared with Peter. Grabbing a torch, Edmund threw open the flap calling his brother's name. Just as he expected the high king was already awake. He sprang to his feet.

"What's going on?"

"Trouble," announced Edmund. "Some sort of Telmarine assassin attacked Caspian in the woods not five minutes from camp."

"An assassin?" Peter's eyes grew wide before the steeliness of command settled back in. "Is he…?"

"Edmund dealt with him," Caspian replied leaning against the main support pole of the tent.

"But we're worried there might be more," continued Edmund. "If there's still soldiers loyal to Miraz about…"

The high king nodded. "Ed, I need you to set up more guards around the perimeter. No one is to leave the safety of the camp until morning. Caspian, we need to… Caspian?"

The prince who had momentarily closed his eyes opened them again to look questioningly at Peter, but didn't raise his head from where it now leaned against the pole. It suddenly felt as if the exhaustion of the entire week had finally hit him.

Peter frowned looking him over, noting his features seemed oddly pale beneath his dark hair. "We're you hurt?"

"The assassin's sword grazed my side, but I'm fine." As if to prove it, Caspian forced himself upright, but a wave of dizziness swept over him forcing him to use the pole for support once more.

Grabbing the torch from Edmund, Peter came around to Caspian's side and pulled back the young prince's cloak. He paled.

"Ed, change of plan. Tell Trumpkin to deal with the guards. I need you to fetch Lucy."

"But I don't know where…" Edmund began as he moved over next to Peter, but he stopped when he saw what his brother had seen.

"Just find her, now!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The grass flew under Edmund's feet as he dashed out of his tent and through the quiet camp. Except for the few on guard duty, everyone was still sleeping off the exhaustion of battle. Edmund dodged between the tents, the slumbering bodies and the fire pits as he headed towards the Telmarine prisoners whom he knew Trumpkin was keeping a close eye upon.

The red dwarf started at Edmund's sudden approach but relaxed when he saw who it was. "What is it now?"

Edmund pulled the grumpy dwarf away from the dozing prisoners. "We need you to arrange more guards around the camp. Caspian and I just had a run in with a Telmarine soldier in the woods."

Trumpkin snorted. "Should've known the Telmarines wouldn't leave things be."

"Tell everyone no one is to leave the camp before first light."

Nodding, Trumpkin was about to comply when Edmund stopped him.

"Do you know where Lucy is?" he asked unable to keep the tension out of his voice.

"No, but she might still be with the wounded. She was helping there earlier. Why? Something wrong?"

Biting his lip, Edmund gave a quick look around making sure no one would overhear. "We don't want to cause a panic so keep this to yourself," he whispered. "Caspian was injured."

"A panic?" Trumpkin snorted again. "It's not like he's… Is he?"

"Just get those guards in position," Edmund commanded before dashing off again.

* * *

Twisting around, Caspian was able to glimpse what had the high king so concerned. Along the prince's side and part of his back, a dark stain was spreading and trailing all the way down his leg. It glistened red in the flickering torchlight. As if the sight made it real, the pain suddenly hit him, his face contorting at the fire spreading outward from his side. He clasped his hand to the wound, immediately feeling the blood start to seep through his fingers.

"That's a bit more than a graze," Peter admonished stabbing the torch into the ground and wishing, not for the first time, for the wonders of electricity.

"I didn't even notice," Caspian admitted as Peter gently helped him lay down.

"You're probably in shock." Peter tried unsuccessfully to get a good look at the wound in the gloom. "It's pretty deep. And I think you've severed an artery. You're losing a lot of blood." Grabbing a blanket, Peter wadded it up and pressed it tightly against the injury.

Caspian couldn't help letting out a small cry at the sudden pain.

"Sorry," Peter muttered. Shifting where he knelt beside Caspian, he realized he was stuck there keeping pressure on the wound until Edmund returned with Lucy. He examined Caspian's pale, clammy features pinched tightly with pain and hoped Edmund would hurry.

Eyes focused intently on the tent ceiling, Caspian shook his head. "No, I'm the one who is sorry."

Peter frowned. "What for?"

"Because I messed up… again." Caspian gave a grimace. "I survived the war only to get myself killed by a single soldier. At least, this time I'm the only one dying."

"You couldn't have known the assassin was there." With a sigh, Peter closed his eyes. "And you didn't mess up before. I was wrong to blame you. I should know better than to blame the outcome of a battle on a single man."

Opening his eyes once more, Peter found Caspian giving him a weak smile. "It's not going to be that easy, is it?"

"What?"

"I can't just declare peace between the Narnians and the Telmarines and have everyone live happily ever after."

Peter shook his head. "No, there's a lot of old hatred and fear to work through. Not to mention decisions to be made on how you intend to govern, whether to follow the laws of Telmar or Narnia, positions to set up in court…"

"Are you sure you don't want your old job back?" Caspian interrupted with a smirk which turned into a wince as his body shuddered with another bout of pain.

The high king hesitated no wanting to admit even to himself how tempting it was to say yes, to take control. "I doubt the Telmarines would accept me as their king, besides this isn't exactly my world anymore."

"This wasn't your world to begin with. That didn't stop you before." Caspian let out a long breath. "How did you do it? You were even younger than I am when you became king. I've trained my whole life for this, but still I don't…" He trailed off.

"Having a lot of friends giving me good advice helped for one thing. Not to mention, having the duties split with three others. But the responsibility was still great and there was a lot to learn." Peter's eyes faded with memories but he let them go and gave a small smile. "But I'll tell you a secret. Since as far back as I can recall, my parents put me in charge of my younger siblings. They were my responsibility. So when I became king, I used what I'd learned from taking care of them."

"You treated all your people as younger brothers and sisters?" Caspian laughed placing a hand across his chest as the movement pulled painfully on his side. "I guess I really did miss out not having siblings."

"But you're not alone. We'll help. Plus there's Trumpkin and Trufflehunter and Dr. Cornelius…" Peter stopped, noticing that Caspian had closed his eyes, his breathing growing shallower. It seemed as if his features had grown even paler and Peter could see his pulse beating harshly against his neck. "Caspian? Caspian stay with me." When the prince didn't respond, Peter pressed harder on the wound hoping the pain would bring him around.

Grimacing, Caspian squirmed and his eyes flickered back open. He looked in Peter's direction but his gaze was unfocused.

Searching for some way to keep Caspian with him, Peter realized there was something he'd been meaning to ask. "What are your intentions towards my sister?"

Caspian's eyes grew wide. "You think now is a good time to discuss that?" he asked hoarsely. He let out a laugh but it came out more as a cough. "Lucy is a beautiful and very wise young lady, but a little young for me."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You know who I mean."

"I don't know." Looking away, Caspian took a shuddering breath. "It's nothing more than a hope and a dream. With our lives, I don't think we have time for anything more." His voice drifted off as his eyes closed once more.

"Sometimes I think that's all this world is, a hope and a dream," Peter whispered. Feeling dampness beneath his hand, Peter looked down to see the blood had soaked through his makeshift bandage. He prayed to Aslan to hurry his littlest sister along, but he began to wonder: if the magic cordial couldn't replace a mouse's tail, how could it replace all Caspian's blood now spread across the ground.


	5. Chapter 4

_AN: I won't be able to keep updating every day like before, but I'll do my best. At least the chapters are getting longer. Thanks to 'Enjoying this' for their advice. :)_

**Chapter 4**

Edmund was at the point of sounding an alarm just to find his sister and forget everything he'd said about not causing a panic. He had checked the tent serving as shelter for the injured and found himself hustled out again by a disgruntled pair of centaurs telling him off for disturbing their patients. Lucy hadn't been there. So, he had raced from tent to tent in search, but none of them contained her. Now he was faced with a sea of sleeping forms in the dark and he didn't have time to check them all to see if any were his younger sister.

Usually, he was much better at keeping tack of his little sister and so was Peter, but they'd been so busy the day before. The camp, set up in the aftermath of the battle, was unorganized and chaotic with most people sleeping wherever they could find a place to lie down. As Edmund ran past a pile of seized Telmarine weapons and armour, he could see the silhouettes of several mice snoring on top.

He paused for a moment leaning on his knees as he caught his breath. "Aslan," he pleaded shooting a desperate look to the woods where the lion had vanished once more.

Suddenly, he heard a distant roar or at least, he thought he heard it. The sleeping bodies around him remained undisturbed. Knowing there were few coincidences in Narnia, he raced off in the direction it came from. He soon reached the edge of the camp and the beginning of the woods, and there at the base of a large oak tree, its roots encircling them like arms, slept Susan and Lucy.

Kneeling down, Edmund shook his younger sister's shoulder. "Lucy."

"Mmm?" she mumbled her eyelids fluttering.

"Lucy, wake up," Edmund persisted. "Caspian's been attacked. We need your cordial."

Instantly awake, she sat up. "Caspian's hurt?"

"Yes," replied Edmund pulling her to her feet. "Come on. We have to hurry."

All the talking and movement had woken Susan. Sitting up, her hair in disarray, she looked around disoriented. "Lucy? What?"

"Caspian's been injured," Lucy called back to her, already racing away with Edmund.

Susan sat there a moment blinking at their retreating forms. Then her eyes grew wide and she jumped to her feet chasing after them.

* * *

When Edmund finally burst into the tent dragging Lucy behind him, Peter had to work hard to keep his hands steady and not jump out of his skin. Caspian, however, showed no reaction.

"What took so long?" reprimanded Peter.

Edmund scowled at him. "Next time we're all sleeping in the same tent," he replied as Lucy knelt down beside Caspian already unscrewing the top of her magic cordial.

Susan arrived just as Lucy let fall two drops of the cordial between the prince's lips. "What happened?"

"Some sort of assassin ambushed him. He's got a sword wound on his side. It's pretty deep. He fell unconscious a few minutes ago," replied Peter keeping a close eye on Caspian for any change.

"How much blood has he lost?" she asked as she came around and knelt down beside the high king.

"A lot. I think he might have severed an artery."

"If he had severed an artery, he'd already be dead," stated Lucy.

Taking a hold of the makeshift bandage from Peter, Susan gently peeled it back. "The bleeding's stopped. Do you have some water?"

Edmund brought over a bucket of water. Grabbing the torch, he held it aloft so they could see better. The blood slowly washed away to reveal nothing but a long thin scar. Susan placed a hand on the prince's forehead and called his name. As one they held their breaths.

After a few moments, Caspian's eyes slowly opened. As they focused on Susan, a small smile swept across his face before turning into a frown. He struggled to sit up only to have several hands push him back down.

"Take it easy," said Susan. "Lucy's cordial healed your wound, but you lost a lot of blood so you'll probably still be weak."

The prince nodded. Turning his head, this time, he smiled at Lucy. "Thank you."

Lucy smiled back. "I'm just glad I got here in time."

Caspian tried sitting up again. This time it was the room spinning that forced him to lie down once more. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he clasped a hand to his head.

"I thought we told you to take it easy," chided Peter.

"But the assassin...," Caspian whispered hoarsely. "If Miraz…"

"We'll take care of it."

Squeezing his hand, Susan whispered, "Get some rest."

Caspian found himself complying without even meaning to as his eyes shut on their own accord and he drifted into sleep.

Carefully, Susan covered Caspian with a blanket. Lucy gave her sister a pointed look as she fussed over the prince, but Susan ignored her.

"That was close." Letting out a deep breath, Edmund sank to the ground. "If we'd been any longer, you might have had to really become king of Narnia again, Peter."

When his brother didn't reply, Edmund put a hand on his shoulder. "Try not to be too disappointed."

Peter glared at him. "I promised I would get him on the throne and I will. I also promised to help him become a good king and I will, with you're help."

The others nodded in agreement.

"As long as we keep him alive," Edmund couldn't help adding.


End file.
